You could call this a non-fiction novel. You could, that is, if that genre name hadn’t been pre-empted by Truman Capote back in the ’60s. Or you could call it historical fiction, if that genre name hadn’t had a long… Read More ›
Books
Sourdough (a science fiction novel, not a manual for breadbaking!)
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s a current publishing trend. Whatever the reason, I seem to be reading too many dystopian novels these days. Actually, though, Robin Sloan’s wonderful novel Sourdough turns out not to be dystopian after all. It… Read More ›
This is not a book review.
Of course I knew I was going to enjoy The Cypher Bureau. As a historical novel about the Polish cryptologists who deciphered The Enigma in World War II, it combines a topic that deeply interests me (cryptology) with an aspect… Read More ›
Death on the Down Beat
As the title suggests, it’s a mystery novel. As the title suggests, a musician is murdered. But that’s probably as far as your expectations will be fulfilled. Speaking of expectations, as supervisors like to say, the author exceeds expectations. Of… Read More ›
Red Side Story
Red Side Story is the second novel of a two- (some predict three-) volume series by Jasper Fforde. Back on April 26 I reviewed the first volume, Shades of Grey. Why the delay, you ask? Talk to the Boston Public… Read More ›
Who is Will Dean? Have you read any of his books?
Recently I read First Born, by Will Dean. Although I had never heard of this author before, the enthusiastic reviews of this thriller persuaded me to give it a try. Admittedly it has no pretensions to being great literature, b… Read More ›
Highly Irregular (a book review)
Probably you have at least some interest in language. Probably you are not a professional linguist. If both of these describe you (having an interest in language but not being a professional linguist), then Arika Okrent’s latest book, Highly Irregular,… Read More ›
Two murders in Paris
Recently I finished reading two mysteries that happened to take place in Paris. You probably wonder whether that was a coincidence. I did too; it certainly wasn’t intentional, but maybe it was my subconscious at work. The covers of both… Read More ›
The Mayors of New York (a book review)
The Mayors of New York is the title of a book by S.J. Rozan. Like you, I had misunderstood what it referred to. It’s fiction, not history! Along with everyone else I asked, I had guessed that it would be… Read More ›
Promising Lives Cut Short
Recently I finished reading William Cohan’s non-fiction account called Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short. My motivation for choosing to read this book was simple. The author, his eponymous four friends, and I have something in common: we all graduated… Read More ›
Murder Crossed her Mind
Every four years like clockwork (assuming, that is, you have a strange clock with a rather vague sense of regularity*) Stephen Spotswood publishes another great novel in his Pentecost and Parker series. And now we’re on to number four: Murder… Read More ›
Ishihara—who’s that?
No, not a professional baseball player. OK, so how about Munsell—who’s that? And are/were they real, or are they fantasy? (Why am I asking these odd questions?) And how are Ishihara and Munsell related to regulations like the following? 2.1.01.05.002:… Read More ›
Truly Vera [get it?]
Apparently I’m the last person in the Western Hemisphere to learn who Vera is. Truly. That is because I watch so little television, and television is the main way in which Americans know Vera. But this post is about a… Read More ›
Read Desert Star again (but maybe it would be best for you to wait until you’re in your seventies)
Actually, don’t wait until then! If you’re in your thirties or forties or whatever, read Michael Connelly’s Desert Star now…and then read it again when you’re in your seventies. It will be a different book. Of course if you’re already… Read More ›
Listen to Me
No, not the movie by the same name. I’m talking about Tess Gerritsen’s excellent new Rizzoli and Isles novel. As you expect from a Rizzoli and Isles story, there is a medical angle to the plot of Listen to Me…. Read More ›
The Freedom Caucus shouts “Ban these books! It’s the American Way! Freedom!!!”
What does it remind you of? 1984? Fahrenheit 451? I don’t mean that people want to ban those particular books (though I’m sure they do); I mean that both of them are cautionary tales that remind you of the dangers… Read More ›
Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English
If you enjoy the English language, but aren’t a professional linguist, you will definitely enjoy this book. If you are sometimes, often, or (yikes) always a prescriptivist, but have an open mind, you’ll not only enjoy it but will also… Read More ›
Among mysteries, novels are usually better than short stories. In science fiction, short stories are most often better than novels.
IMHO, the claim in the overly long title to this post is correct. YMMV, of course. If you agree with my conclusion, the natural question is to ask why this should be so. Here we have two similar, occasionally even… Read More ›
A new Agatha Christie? How can that be?
What have we here? It’s apparently a new collection of short stories by Agatha Christie (who died 47 years ago). Something is amiss! Midsummer Mysteries, subtitled Tales from the Queen of Mystery, is indeed marketed as a new collection of… Read More ›
Trace Elements
How, you’re probably wondering, could the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) possibly relate to a novel about Venice? OK, I admit that you’re probably wondering no such thing. But I’m going to tell you anyway. Of course water is the… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 